IF the real political history of the US over this last
twelve years, and this last four years in particular,
is ever written, the NYTwits and the WASHPs will be
revealed as shameful imitations of the former selves
on the BIG issues of this period, including the
persecution and attempted political assasination of
Bill Clinton, the Theft of the 2000 Presidential Race
in Fraudida, the Bush/Lay/Enron/California story, the
9/11 cover-up and the Iraq war lies...
Reuters, The Age: Major US newspapers failed to
challenge Government claims about Iraqi weapons of
mass destruction, before and after the 2003 war,
according to a study by the University of Maryland.
The study, by the university's Centre for
International and Security Studies released on
Tuesday, concluded that newspaper coverage generally
failed to adequately question the US Administration's
efforts to link its campaign..."Too many journalists acted as virtual stenographers for the current Administration, in effect validating President (George) Bush's linkage of terrorism, Iraq and weapons of mass destruction," said University of Maryland
journalism professor Susan Moeller, the report's
author.
Break the Bush Cabal's Stranglehold on the "US
Mainstream News Media," Show Up for Democracy in 2004:
Defeat Bush (again!)
http://www.theage.com.au/text/articles/2004/03/10/1078594428223.html
US media reports on Iraq 'inadequate'
Date: March 11 2004
Washington
Major US newspapers failed to challenge Government
claims about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, before
and after the 2003 war, according to a study by the
University of Maryland.
The study, by the university's Centre for
International and Security Studies released on
Tuesday, concluded that newspaper coverage generally
failed to adequately question the US Administration's
efforts to link its campaign against Iraq with its
"war on terror".
It also concluded that media coverage often echoed the
Administration's argument that Iraq's chemical and
biological weapons were a serious and immediate
threat.
"Too many journalists acted as virtual stenographers
for the current Administration, in effect validating
President (George) Bush's linkage of terrorism, Iraq
and weapons of mass destruction," said University of
Maryland journalism professor Susan Moeller, the
report's author.
Professor Moeller analysed reporting by The Christian
Science Monitor, Los Angeles Times, The New York
Times, The Washington Post, Newsweek and US News and
World Report, and also by national public radio.
She found coverage before and after the war tended to
lump suspected Iraqi nuclear, chemical and biological
weapons together, which obscured the big differences
between the potential harm, availability and ease of
use of such weapons, she said.
At the same time, the media surveyed provided too
little coverage of policy options other than war.
"The 'inverted pyramid' style of news writing, which
places the most 'important' information first,
produced much greater attention to the
Administration's point of view on WMD issues at the
expense of alternative perspectives," Professor
Moeller said.
- Reuters
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